Scar a tear in the seamless skin: Types and Treatments

A scar is a mark left on the skin while and after a wound heals because of the replacement of the normal skin tissues with fibrous tissues. Scars appear either due to wounds, lesions caused by some disease or because of some surgical procedure. Initially, the scars appear as red or purple and later they become white and glistening.

Types of scar:

Scars are of different types including:

• Keloids scar: An exuberant scar that appears at the site of an injury and spreads beyond the borders of the original lesion. The Keloid scar is a mass of collagen fibers and fibroblasts. This type of scar has a shiny surface with a rubbery consistency. This type of scar is usually found on the shoulders, chest, and back.
• Contracture or cicatricial scar: Scar causing many contractions. This type of scar tightens the muscles making it impossible or in some cases very difficult to move. Contracture scars may sometimes be deep-seated sometimes even affecting muscles and nerves. This type of scars is usually seen in burn cases.
• Hypertrophic scar: This type of scarred and are raised just like keloid scar but they tend to spread beyond their borders.
• Painful scar: In this type of scar nerves are also involved causing pain during healing. The nerve endings sometimes become bulbous. This condition is treated either by dissecting the scar or excising the nerve.
• Acne scar: This type of scar is usually present in people who had a severe outburst of acne. These scars can either be a deep pit, angular or wavelike.
• Stretch marks: They are also a form of scar caused due to stretching of the skin rapidly. Usually seen in pregnancy or during teenage when there is a growth spurt or during weight gain. However, these scars begin to fade after a few years.
• Umbilical scar
• Atrophic scar: This type of scar occurs in cases where the structures that lie beneath the skin such as fats or muscles are lost.

Treatments:

• A chemical peel helps in controlled exfoliation of the skin. Especially suited for dark skin people who are more likely to develop keloid, and for people with active infections also.
• Filler injection, it is very useful in cases of atrophic scars. Filler injection of collagen helps to remove an atrophic scar. Disfigurement and allergic reactions are the complications often associated with filler injections.
• Laser treatment: Pulse dye laser of varying frequency is used to treat scars especially atrophic scars and keloid scars.

Ablative laser treatment is useful in cases of atrophic scars and acne scars.

• Radiotherapy: Low dose of radiotherapy helps in preventing reoccurrence of hypertrophic scars and severe keloid.
• Steroids: Long-term use of corticosteroids helps in healing keloid and Hypertrophic scars.
• Silicon scar dressing, it helps in healing the existing scar and prevent the formation of any scar also.
• The pressure dressing is used to correct hypertrophic scar, however, there is no strong evidence supporting it
• Vitamin E
• Massage
• Micro-needling
• Dermabrasion or removal of the skin on the surface.